MMA News

Mark Munoz weighs in on facing a friend and former training partner in Lyoto Machida next month at UFC Fight Night 30. Machida is a last-minute replacement for Michael Bisping who was forced out of the bout due to an eye surgery last week. Munoz says none of those factors will throw off his game plan too much.

By Christopher Murphy @MurphMMA

With a little more than three weeks to UFC Fight Night 30, headliner Mark Munoz must adjust his training. With his original opponent, Michael Bisping, out with a detached retina, Munoz will be facing a significantly different challenge in Lyoto Machida, the former light heavyweight champion who has been called upon as a last-minute replacement.

For Mark Munoz, the switch could be troubling. In addition to the relatively short time remaining until fight night, Lyoto Machida is a larger opponent, a very unorthodox fighter, and a personal friend and former training partner. None of that, however, matters to Munoz.

“He is a friend of mine and we have trained together in the past,” Munoz told Bleacher Report’s Duane Finely, “but that isn’t something I have a problem with. I’ve fought friends before, and it’s nothing personal.

“Now, I’ll make the adjustments in training and preparing for his style to make sure I’m ready when I step into that cage. It’s an abrupt turn, and Machida has an unorthodox style that is difficult to duplicate, but at the same time, he’s never faced anyone who fights the way I do either. It goes both ways in this situation. I only have three weeks to prepare for him, but he only has three weeks to prepare for me as well.”

With the new headline fight between Munoz and Machida, UFC Fight Night 30 will go on as scheduled for Saturday, October 26 in Manchester, England. Preliminary fights will stream live online on Facebook and UFC.com beginning at 12pm/9am ETPT. The main card will air live on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 3pm/12pm ETPT.

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